Since the hype of the Fortnite World Cup in 2019, competitive Fortnite has evolved. Ahead of the Red Bull Contested in Edinburgh this weekend,💝 we spoke to a number of players that are competing in the eight round solo tournament - the UK’s first major LAN for Fortnite. These are some o🐭f the best Fortnite players in the world. But what does it take to be the world’s best - especially when you’re competing at such a young age?
Jaden 'Wolfiez' Ashman was a standout player in 2019, placing second in 2019’s Fortnite World Cup alongside his duos teammate, Rojo. This netted him a total prize pot of $1.1 million at the age of 15. More than enough to change someone’s life, especially a teenager. Four years later, Wolfiez is still competing at the highest level. “Everyone has matured a lot. I’ve matured a lot. We were just kids,” he tells me at a pre-tournament interview. “I started playing games when I was about six years old. My family was supportive even if they didn’t understand completely to begin with.”
The story is the same for many of the players who started out at only 12 or 13 years old. Aidan ‘Threats’ Mong, an NA player for Manchester City Esports alongside Konrad ‘Skram’ Skram and Sebastian ‘Trippernn’ Sommer Kjaer, tells me about his family’s support when he was first starting out. “I was doing good in school, so they didn’t mind - and I had always played g🍸ames, and other sports, like baseball. When I asked my mum if we could move to Virginia to get 0 ping on NA servers, she said yes. My parents were always very supportive.” Skram tells me about the first time he w🐠on big - $30,000 - in an online tournament. “My parents weren’t at home. I was home alone, actually. I just called my mum up and said, ‘I’ve won $30,000.’ My bank account was basically empty. It was a massive moment for me.”
A UK-based player, Zachariah ‘Pinq’ Siddall, tells me about how his parents also encouraged his hobby because he was still doing well in school. “It was just a hobby I loved a lot and they respected that. It was fine because my school results were still good.” Pinq’s hobby suddenly changed when he got signed for the first time. “I told my parents when I first won money. It wasn’t that much. But when I got signed for the first time and started earning four figures a month, I thought, ‘yeah, I can dဣo this, I’m going to be dedicated to this’.”
Thomas ‘Th0masHD’ Høxbro Davidsen also tells me about his supportive parents, and explains how the scene has changed in the years since he started playing. “The average age of competitors in DreamHack this year was 17, 18, 19. Back in the World Cup it was 13, 14. We’ve all gotten older.” Th0masHD is a down-to-earth guy who speaks plainly about the current state of Fortnite and the competitive scene. “It&rsq🀅uo;s proba🅰bly easier and at the same time harder for new players to get into the pro scene. Prize pools aren’t as big as they were.”
Martin ‘MrSavage’ Foss Andersen is one of the longest-running players of competitive Fortni൩te who “used to play before there were even tournaments. Just small cash prizes.” He’s seen a lot of changes to the scene in his time involved with the sport. “It’s much harder now. Everyone is so much better. We’ve all been grinding for a long time.”
These players have just attended DreamHack in Dallas, will play this weekend in Edinburgh, then on to Sweden and Saudi Arabia later in the summer. It’s a packed schedule, but Michał ‘"Kami’" Kamiński tells me that this is 🦩the reason he loves the game and the scene. “You’ve got to grind. You can’t stop playing between tournaments. You constantly need to be playing and learning as you go. So much changes all the time.” When I asked him about whether it’d be easy for new players to get into the scene, he was pretty sure it was easier than ever, “It’s easier to get into the scene now. You can follow professional players on social media and learn from them.”
Many of the pros have only just finished school. Most finished their GCSEs and high school, but not many of them are pursuing any more education. When I ask Wolfiez what he’d be doing if he wasn’t a Fortnite pro, he tells me, “I’d probably get into fitness. I’ve built this following on social media. It’s not easy. I think if you want to do anything, you’ve got to be dedicated to it - so I’d be dedicated to that.” Pinq says if he wasn’t a Fortnite player, he’d probably be grinding something else,🌞 like “selling shoes.” Threats meanwhil🐈e thinks he’d probably be playing another game at a high level, “Fortnite is technically one of the hardest games. I think there is a lot of crossover into other games. You just have to spend time grinding the game. I’m competitive, so I’d still want to compete in something.”
Red Bull Constested takes place this weekend in Edinburgh. The 100-player tournament will be broadcast l🌼ive on Twitch.